Glenn Tipton diagnosed with Parkinson’s

Glenn Tipton diagnosed with Parkinson’s and they made the news official this morning. Glenn Tipton is hands down my favorite songwriter of the 20th century and also one of my favorite guitarists.

That’s why I drink so much coffee. Yes, a lot of life is luck. The best we can do is increase our odds. Studies have shown that 5+ cups of coffee daily reduce your chances of regenerative brain diseases by anywhere from 25-35%. That just means coffee reduces your chances. Still no guarantee you won’t get it, especially if you have a family history.

Glenn Tipton

But let’s not make this an article on life. I’d much rather announce my appreciation of the man. Also, you can live a long time with the disease. Michael J Fox acted nine years after the diagnoses.

Unfortunately, Tipton has already announced his live replacement. He’s still with the band. He just can’t play the harder songs live any more.

So that said, Tipton wrote a lot of my favorite Judas Priest songs. Priest has had such a successful career over such a long period of time. I regret not seeing them live in the 80s. However, I did see them with Ripper Owens singing in 1998 and I saw them on the reunion tour in 2005 with Rob Halford.

My favorite band of all-time, and my biggest influence when it comes to the Metal side of my songwriting.